Synopsis
Invincible Iron Man #522 synopsis by
Rob Johnson
Rating:
In Mandarin City, Mandarin sends most of his super-agents out to scavenge the materials that Tony Stark said last issue he needs to build a Titanomech. They strike in various places, but the team we follow is Titanium Man and Whirlwind stealing a computer data store from Vancouver, where they are interrupted by the new Iron Man.
Iron Man easily defeats the villains, but is then attacked by 2 of the Detroit Steel Corps led by Sasha Hammer in new armour that allows her to use her fingertip energy whips. Sasha intends to claim that Iron Man was working with the bad guys, and the Corps caught them all.
Pepper Potts is awakened by the JARVIS AI in the helmet by her bedside in Seattle, to tell her about the Vancouver battle. She leaves Carson Wyche in her bed and flies there in her Rescue armour.
Back in Mandarin City Tony Stark is overseeing medical operations on Ezekiel Stane and someone else. The operation on Zeke seems to be designed to relieve him of pain from the modifications that his body has been subjected to throughout his life. At the last minute Stark claims to have spotted that the operation instructions have been mixed up, and they're going to do the operations to the wrong people. Mandarin wants to kill the surgeon responsible, but Stark persuades him to let them carry on with the correct procedures.
Afterwards Stark threatens to commit suicide to avoid continuing to work for Mandarin. But Mandarin says that he wouldn't do it, even if he used his partial control of Tony's thoughts/body to push him in that direction. Because deep down Stark still thinks he's going to win in the end.
Mandarin recounts how he found his rings as a boy in a crashed alien spaceship. He claims they aren't actually rings, but containers for the spirits of legendary warriors. And Stark's work will free them.
The Detroit Steel trio have Iron Man on the ropes when Rescue arrives, claiming priority because the Iron Man suit contains unauthorised Stark technology. The 2 of them hold off Sasha and co, but run away when more Detroit Steels turn up.
Back in Seattle, on top of the Space Needle, Pepper claims she detects Stark, Resilient, AIM and SHIELD tech in Iron Man's armour. Like last issue she wants to know who he is. But again Jim Rhodes flies off without telling her.
The issue ends with Zeke Stane physically recovering from the operation, but with his mind already back in peak condition, after his IQ had been severely downgraded by Mandarin last issue. And the operation has also removed the bomb in his chest. (It also seems to have given him a couple of Stark repulsor chest implants.) Zeke says it's all down to Tony's successful 'ruse'.
Stark has almost completed the Titanomech. And tomorrow he and Zeke will go to war. (It remains to be seen whether this will be for or against Mandarin.)